Anhui Province And Provincial Recognition

Compared with the comprehensively over-exploited disputing point of the founding time of Anhui Province, the Anhui provincial identification is an untouched new topic. This dissertation is devoted to the multidimensional research of the Anhui provincial identification with historical geographic features, taking the social community identification theory as reference.The first Chapter uncovers several crucial factors to the understanding of administrative partitions in historical times such as jurisdictial situations, topographical details, establishment of governing bodies, social identification and shared memory. In the early period of Qing Dynasty, Anhui was under the jurisdiction of Jiang-Nan province when the newly founded Dynasty excised authority and sovereignty mainly through marital supervision, from what arose the demand for adjustment of administrative functions and regional division, which eventually led to the historic partition of Jiang-Nan Province and the foundation of Jiangsu and Anhui provinces. Four reasons contributed to the division of Jiang-Nan Province, namely the strategic reorgnization of local administration, the need for strengthening political and military control regarding topographical details, the difficulties of collecting and distributing taxes and revenues within a vast territory, the necessity for the improvement of jurisdictional efficiency.Chapter two analyses the multifunction of compilation and revision of local chronicles including versions from under Kangxi, Qianlong and Daoguang reigns in the making of provincial identification according to the theory of organizational identification. The compilation of provincial chronicles was a sacred and official event that can only be initiated and sanctioned by central government and fulfilled by provincial government with the cooperation of local gentries. Aside from the clearly defined province boundary, there was an explication of provincial identity in the Daoguang version of Anhui Province Chronicle which described the self-affirmed natural and human characteristics within the geographical territory of Anhui province, and testified the compilers’ strong organizational identification and rational participation consciousness.As one of the sub-national administrative divisions, Anhui province and its jurisdiction system was not only the product of particular historical circumstances but also the reflection and accumulation of local cultures and its people’s psychological identification at varied levels through the history. An in-depth research into the delayed identification formation process, compared to the administrative partition, sheds new light to the understanding of the inception and evolution of certain administrative institutions and divisions.The third chapter applies quantitative inquiry to a horde of3514samples of Anhui rooted officials, selected from the Gentry’s Directory of Qing Dynasty, living during the period from the4th year of Yongzheng emperor to the22nd year of Jiaqing emperor. Based on the statistical classification according to different criteria, the research shows that the Anhui provincial identity had been popularly recognized by the officials, whereas regional identifications varied according to different administrative ranks.The provincial Huiguan (Guild Hall), often constructed with strong regional architectural features, provided a gathering place for provincial fellows and thus it was the ideal window to observe high end provincial identifications. The fourth chapter tries to unveil the provincial identification of those Qing Dynasty Anhui provincial fellows living in Beijing through analysis of historical documents such as Directory of Anhui Huiguan in Beijing (Anonymity) and Chronicle of Anhui Huiguan (Li Jingming). The prosperity and prominence of Beijing Anhui Huiguan in the late Qing dynasty was mainly due to the immense political influence of Huai army group represented by Li Hongzhang who came to be one of the most powerful government officials since1860s. The gorgeous shrines of Zhu Xi (from the southern part of Anhui province) and Min Zi or Bao Zhen (from the northern part of Anhui province) that are spontaneously placed in the Anhui Huiguan revealed the intentional strengthening of the integrity of Anhui province and the psychological self-identification associate to it. Title tablets decorating the wall of Huiguan honoring those Anhui provincial fellows who prospered through the Imperial Examination System was also an display of self-identified regional pride. Anhui Huiguan was the de facto spiritual homeland for those living in Beijing, every fete ceremony took place in Anhui Huiguan and all its local cultural symbols had helped to strengthen the solidarity and identification of provincial fellows.